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All posts for the month August, 2013

SO our not so hero “heroes” travel to the South east – this place they begin to learn is a deathtrap ……..

The masonry walls of this 20-foot wide hall are in poor repair. The far end is especially bad, as it has completely collapsed, filling the southern section with rubble. The western wall is in much better shape than the other walls, and it holds a stone door with a rearing dragon carved in relief upon it. The door contains a single keyhole, which is situated in the rearing dragon’s open mouth.

They fight the dreaded undead dogs and use the chime on the dragons mouth , the door opens .

The dust of ages, long undisturbed, covers every surface in this large gallery. Three alcoves are on the north wall, and one is located in the south wall. Each alcove contains a dust-covered stone pedestal with a fist-sized crystalline globe upon it. Although the globes in the northern alcoves lie cracked and dark, the globe in the southern alcove glows with a soft blue light. Faint tinkling notes spring forth from it.

They over come the trap and pressure plate appears , standing on it they are transported to a corridor.

The air is stale in this 20-foot-long corridor, which leads to another closed stone door.

Getting past the arrow trap

Dust fills this hall like a layer of gray snow. In the rounded northern end of the chamber, you see a sculpture of a dragon carved from red-veined white marble.

Riddle:

The statue stands 10 feet tall, depicting a coiled dragon. Should any animate creature move to within feet of the sculpture, a permanent magic mouth causes the dragon to speak in Common (to viewers, it seems the stone jaws are actually speaking). The dragon’s riddle is as follows:

We come at night without being fetched;

we disappear by day without being stolen.

Answer: stars

With that the door opens

Dust cloaks the 20-foot-wide hall. Three narrow alcoves line both the north and south wall. Each alcove holds a humanoid figure carved of red-veined white marble, except for the southwest alcove, which is empty. The figures resemble tall elves in plate mail The far end of the hall opens via a stone arch into a wide room, from which greenish light trickles. A dark pit is situated before the western archway.

They fight the guardian its final words are

“You broke the binding; my watch over the dragonpriest is over!”

Finally they find a secret room to camp Dust coats this tiny chamber, obscuring words inscribed on the southern wall. Rubbing the dust away from the inscriptions, those familiar with the Draconic alphabet note its use in the inscription. Those who can understand the Draconic language read, “A dragonpriest entombed alive for transgressions of the Law still retains the honor of his position.”

After defeating the duergar and the farmers , they corner the shaman and ask him what he is “Im human he answers?”……. weird think the goblins ………… let’s eat them?

“where is the hidden crypt” demands the duergar

The old priest cowers , “down the old road ….. leave us please he begs “

The overgrown Old Road winds through rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak, and past 4 abandoned

farm shacks. The lonely road is empty, save for the small band. They encounter a horrible creature , which first they thought was a shambling mound but turned out to be a gelatinous cube. Onward they go

The Old Road passes to the east of a narrow ravine. At the road’s closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jut from the earth where the ravine widens and opens into something more akin to a deep, but narrow, canyon. Two of the pillars stand straight, but most of them lean against the sloped earth. Others are broken, and several have apparently fallen into the darkness-shrouded depths. A few similar pillars are visible on the opposite side of the ravine.

Anyone standing next to the ravine immediately notes a sturdy knotted rope tied to one of the leaning pillars. The rope hangs down into the darkness below. Judging by its good condition, the rope couldn’t have been tied there any longer than two or three weeks ago. Player characters can also see older and weathered hand- and footholds carved into the cliff face. These are elf carved.

A sandy ledge overlooks a subterranean gulf of darkness to the west. The ledge is wide but rough. Sand, rocky debris, and the bones of small animals cover it. A roughly hewn stairwell zigs and zags down the side of the ledge, descending into darkness.

Once down they encounter some hungry dire rats and see the strewn skeletons of recent victim , so who else has been down here ?

At the edge of sight, a fortress top emerges from the darkness. The subterranean citadel, though impressive, seems long forgotten, if the lightless windows, cracked crenellations, and leaning towers are any indication. All is quiet, though a cold breeze blows up from below, bringing with it the scent of dust and a faint trace of rot. The narrow stairs empty into a small courtyard, apparently the top of what was once a crenellated battlement. The buried citadel has sunk so far into the earth that the battlement is now level with the surrounding cavern floor. The floor stretches away to the north and south, and it is apparently composed of a layer of treacherous, crumbled masonry, which reaches to an unknown depth. To the west looms the surviving structure of what must be the Sunless Citadel. A tower stands on the west side of the courtyard.

More rats are fought and defeated as they make their way across the courtyard. Into a ruined tower…..

This circular area is cobbled with cracked granite, upon which sprawl four goblins, all apparently slain in combat. One stands with its back against the western wall, the killing spear still skewering it and holding it upright. Three wooden doors lead off from this the area. Above, a hollow tower of loose masonry reaches 30 feet, but the intervening floors and stairs are gone, except for a couple of crumbled ledges. Investigation reveals that the four elf bodies are about a month dead, though rats have gnawed at them. The bodies are looted of all valuables, though each elf possesses a short sword, removing the spear pinning the goblin to the wall, the body slumps to reveal deep-set and impressive runes in the wall. Those who know the Draconic language can read “Ashardalon.”

Having a search they find a secret door !

This pocket chamber is damp and cold. The skeletons of three long-dead archers slump against rubble-filled arrow slits along the east and south wall. They animate and a fight ensues.

They find a trapped corridor to the north and have just reached a locked door .

After the fight with the evil cleric , they find a duergar Chained to a wall , he announces himself as the mighty Bruthwol , he was sent here by a powerful drow and his uncle to find a magic item , in a hidden crypt . But first they were looking for a chime to open this crypt up . He was then betrayed by the other duergar and has offered the goblins a chance to be powerful and be very rich, which they are eager to be !!!!

Releasing the duergar he gets them out of the crypt and during the night’s camp the hear the chiming off a bell , the approach the sound the next morning and find a full camp of strange undead that live like humans , but its a race , the enemy duergar are already there.

What followed was some great tactics and acrobatics expertise , but they got the chime, now its time to find the crypt …………………….